Some news stories just beg for fictional treatment. From The Post Millennial:
Suspect accused of chewing off Oregon man’s face claimed victim was a ‘robot’ trying to kill him
The suspect told police during an interview that he thought the victim, whom he believed to be a robot, was trying to kill him because of the way he “smelled.” He also admitted to using alcohol, fentanyl, and marijuana before the attack.
On Twitter, Andy Ngo adds some deets: the face-chewer “comes from a well-to-do family in Ocean Grove, NJ & played soccer at Oberlin College.” Good stuff!
This one might be a little too far out for a Nick Zollicker story. But it’s right on the money for Philip K. Dick. Maybe a spin on Second Variety or a 180 on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
MEMO
To: FirstNerve Films development team
From: ANG
Re: Oregon face chewing story
Definite film potential here, maybe a Netflix limited series. I’ve sent you a zoom invite for tomorrow.
Working title is Sniffer Bots from Hell. We’ll have a pair of robots and give them the Roger Corman treatment: one a female whose major boobage helps her get close to male victims; the other a Don Knots / Adam Schiff type who has a tough time getting close to female victims because they already assume he’s a creepy robot. Nice asymmetry—the oddball pairing will give some internal tension to the killer bot team. For the Oberlin soccer kid face-biter I’m thinking Tyler Posey. (Brenda: set up a call with his agent.)
(Bill, Charlie: we need some plot points.) Are the robots after a certain kind of BO or just anyone who smells human? What’s their backstory? Was BO sniffing their original mission or were they built for another purpose? Also: why is eating their faces the only way to stop them? Let’s pencil in a love interest for Oberlin Face-biter Kid; maybe a sweet but streetwise homeless ANTIFA chick he meets after he’s evicted from his house in Portland.
(Todd: pencil up some financials.) I think we can get this sucker made for $250K, especially if we film on video in Portland. Town already has the post-apocalyptic look. Be sure to budget some NARCAN for the extras (and crew, in case anyone steps on a needle).
TTYL